Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!! I'm sure you all could tell from the new background. I'm going to have to really get to like the color pink!!! As you can tell from the pictures above, little Flurry is a very healthy black and white blob!!! She was really moving a lot at the ultrasound, and the technician said she was pretty sure that she was a girl. We both said, "Pretty sure???" Another technician came in and verified. The top picture shows her facing the camera, and the bottom picture shows her spine very clearly. By the way, it's so nice to not have to type he/she anymore!!!

We're both really excited to learn even more about Flurry as the pregnancy goes along. Jamie has already informed me that she is going to Baby's R Us tomorrow to go shopping.

This is Mommy typing now! I already LOVE the color PINK, so that won't be an adjustment at all for me! I am going to try not to go too overboard, however, I think both sets of grandparents are pretty excited about having a little girl! My mom already wanted to know what the colors for the nursery would be!!! HA! Baby Flurry looked healthy (from what we could tell) and had her legs above her head most of the time! At least we will have a flexible little girl! We will find out more results from the ultrasound next week at the doctor! Until then, think PINK!

My Dream Last Night

Well, I haven't had too many weird dreams throughout this pregnancy, however, last night was an exception. I had a dream that Ryan and I went to our ultrasound and they performed it in the lobby of Lutheran Hospital. Randy Grimes (a funeral home director in Columbia City) and Loren Fry (a man who is an acquaintance of ours) were watching it. The ultrasound was fine... they told us we were having a little girl and she was healthy. We took our pictures with us and as we were getting in our car, the ultrasound tech came out and asked us to come back in for a minute. We went back and she wanted to take another look. Ryan had to go to the bathroom, so I sat there while she put more of the cold gel on my belly. To our surprise, this time the baby was a boy. However, his boy parts were in his mouth!!!!!! Ryan missed the big reveal because he was in the bathroom and when he returned the baby wouldn't open his mouth to show us again! The dream ended when Ryan's alarm went off this morning. I was telling Ryan about it when I realized how absurd it all sounded!!!!! Needless to say, our ultrasound must have been on my mind last night before going to sleep! YIKES!

The Final Exam

Well, this weekend at work, one of my co-workers tried the string test on me. She says she does it with 100% accuracy. The problem is: the last time she did it, she came up with a different answer than she did this time around.... and I know I haven't been pregnant before! The first time... the string test said "BOY!" This time, the string test says "GIRL!" We are getting very excited and a little anxious about tomorrow! We are praying for a healthy little baby... boy or girl! Check back tomorrow night for the results!

First Time Father

Like all expecting dads, I really have no idea what to expect when our little one comes into this world. So, where would you expect me to go for resources? Why, the internet, of course!!! I have found so much information that will be very useful once Flurry gets here. For example, look at this picture telling me how to wake a baby.




How useful!!! I'll have to find a new use for that air horn, though. Next, like all dads before me, I am not quite sure how to check for a dirty diaper. Let's see what my friends on the internet tell me.


I guess that makes sense!!! Finally, I want Flurry to be a healthy baby, so I decided to see how to exercise him/her. Let's take a look!



I'm so glad that we now have the internet to help us in times like these!!!

5 days to go!

In only 5 days we will know the gender of our little baby. I know this is not nearly as exciting for all of you as it is for us, but we cannot wait! My appointment is not till 3:30 on Monday, so we will not be posting until later that night! It looks like more people think the baby is a girl... Ryan and I really don't have a strong feeling either way. We have both had dreams that it is a girl, but we haven't done this before so we're waiting for the experts to tell us.

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for the sickness to go away. I am still getting sick, but it is sooooo much better than it was. I am almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight and having more good days than bad at this point.

I finished my clinical hours this week. I am done with clinical now until May, then I only have 150 hours to complete this summer and I am FINISHED! It is so nice to have some time to get my house in order and catch up on some sleep! Now I am not sure what my excuse will be for not having the laundry folded! Hope everything is going well in your corner of the world. Have a great Wednesday!

Pepper Peppler

As you can see, Flurry is about the size of a bell pepper this week. You don't realize how hard it is to type the word "pepper" when my last name is "Peppler". Every time that I've typed it, there has been an extra "l". This week, Flurry's genitals are forming, which is good considering we are supposed to find out next Monday if Flurry is a boy or girl. Flurry's ears are now standing out from his/her head. Don't ask me where they were before. Flurry is starting to move around a lot more and stretch and kick. Jamie has yet to feel the baby kick, and she is still getting sick, so continue to pray for her and Flurry. We're hoping the sickness leaves soon!
Only 22 more weeks to go!!!

Laughing Baby

Howdy, all. I came across this on YouTube the other day, and wanted to share with all. Just click on the following link. I hope our child is as happy as this one!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk

Turnip the Volume!!!

Well, here we are in week 17. Jamie thought she was starting to feel better this weekend, but lo and behold, Monday came, and so did her sickness. I have to say, though, that she is doing so well with it. I've never heard somebody say, "I just puked!" and still have a smile on her face!!! What a trooper.

As far as Flurry is concerned, he/she weighs about 5 ounces (about the size of a turnip). Flurry is also about 5 inches long. Only 6 or 7 feet more til we have an NBA player on our hands!!! Dad can dream, can't I?! Flurry's cartilage is hardening more and more. Little known fact here: A newborn's skeleton has 300 parts (bones and cartilage). As the child grows, some parts harden and fuse together. As an adult, Flurry will have just 206 bones!!! And hopefully we'll avoid any broken ones.

Happy Easter!

Well, I thought the sickness was over! I had two great days over the weekend! Saturday and Sunday I felt wonderful, was able to eat Easter dinner with my family and didn't feel bad once. I didn't even require any medication to curb the nausea! I felt like myself again! Well, that is, until this morning! The sickness returned in full swing! I woke up not feeling well and thought if I just go back to sleep for awhile it will go away! HA! I guess not! Oh well, at least I know there is the possibility of feeling normal again one of these days!

We would like to wish everyone a blessed Easter, and we would especially like to thank our cousins Mollie and Mallorie for the delightful little surprise they left on our doorstep yesterday (YUM!). Have a great week!

The Chinese Calendar

According to the Chinese calendar, based on the mother's age at conception and the month of conception, we should be expecting a little girl in August! Can't wait to see if we will be decorating with pink or blue! Stay tuned for more test results soon!

The Quiz

Well, the next test to determine if we are having little boy or little girl was a quiz. The questions supposedly determine what the sex of our baby is. There were 20 questions and after submitting the quiz the likelihood of a little girl is 57% and the likelihood of a little boy is 43%. So, according to this test, we will have a little princess in August.

One of the scientific questions on the quiz was whether I choose the heel of a loaf of bread or whether I avoid it. Knowing this, you can decide for yourselves whether this is an accurate measure or not! Take care!

The Key Test

Here's another test I tried on Jamie last night. It's called the Key Test and it goes like this...

Have the mother-to-be pick up a a single key. If she picks it up by the round part it will be a boy. If she picks up the long narrow part it will be a girl. If she picks it up in the middle she is supposedly having twins.

What did she do?

She picked up the key by the round part, which, according to the Key Test, means we'll be having a boy in August.

Holy Guacamole!!! A New Baby!!!

Well, week 16 is here! There was a rumor that all of Jamie's sickness would be gone by now. So far, that seems to only be a rumor. As far as growth of Flurry is concerned, Flurry is now the size of an avacado. I'll never look at guacamole the same way again!!! In the next three weeks, Flurry will double in weight and grow inches in length. Flurry is starting to grow fingernails and toenails as we speak. I've been reading horror stories about trying to trim nails on a baby this week. Can't wait to do that.

In other news, our good friends, Jake and Lindsie had their baby!!! A little girl named Grace Susanne. I'm sure big sister Ava is excited to welcome home a new little sister. Congrats, guys!!!

Sex Test

We have decided that it would be fun to try all the old wives tales to determine whether we are having a boy or girl. We will post the results of the different tests every couple days as we finish them. You can check back often and see if you can decide which tests are accurate and which ones are not! Good luck!

Today's test: The eye exam. According to an engineer, a pregnant women can tell what the sex of her baby is by looking at the blood vessels in her left eye. X=girl, Y=boy. We tried to post a picture to let you decide, but to no avail! I have a Y! If you would like to see evidence, just ask!

Refills

Well, I am a little disappointed. I had to refill my nausea medicine for the 3rd time today. I was trying to make the final two pills last as long as possible and avoid needing to refill it, but no such luck! Oh well, as long as Flurry is okay, Mommy will survive. The scales are not moving up yet. I have a friend who said she lost 13 pounds during her pregnancy... I am hoping that doesn't happen to me! I am sure one of these days I will be hoping that the scales would go down! I am off to work... have a great weekend!

Porkchops and Applesauce

Growth report...

This week, Flurry is about 4 inches long, weighing about 2 1/2 ounces, about the size of an apple. Something that Flurry is doing this week that is quite interesting is that he/she is breathing the amniotic fluid through his/her nose, which help the air sacs in the lungs develop. Who knew? Oh, and more good news. Flurry's legs are now longer than his/her arms. What a relief!!! One other cool tidbit of information...Even though Flurry's eyelids are still fused shut, Flurry can sense light. If you shine a light toward Jamie's belly, Flurry is likely to move away from the light. I am on my way to Wal-Mart to get a flashlight right after I get done with this!!!

Cruising Right Along...

Well, it's week 15 and we're off to a good start! I have transitioned almost entirely to maternity clothes at this point except for the occasional pair of oversized sweats that still are comfortable. I really don't feel like I am showing too much, but my regular clothes are definitely not fitting anymore! Some of the maternity tops I have make me look 8 months pregnant, so I will be folding those and putting them away for awhile longer. I am excited to start looking pregnant! I was handing out bulletins at church last week and there was a girl standing in the foyer who hollered in at me, "Hey Jamie! You look pregnant!" I am not sure whether she knew I was pregnant or not, but I was certainly glad that I am with child! Otherwise, I might have had a meltdown right there. It was almost like the time I was checking blood pressures at church and a lady said to me, "Oh my, you've gained weight!" I was not pregnant at the time and I must say her little outburst made me want to cry and scream all at the same time. Instead, I got to pray for her... I asked God to help her be an encouragement and ray of sunshine to all the people she met that day! I think God had his work cut out for him on that one!

Other than my waist size expanding, we are just cruising along. Spaghetti is my favorite food right now (with Prego Fresh Mushroom sauce) and I have started drinking Gatorade (orange) again. I had been drinking this by the gallon early on in my pregnancy, but took a brief hiatus for awhile. Now, Gatorade and milk are my drinks of choice. My doctor told me last week that hopefully by week 20, the nausea and sickness will be completely gone! Trust me, we are counting down and hoping she is right! Hope all is well with everyone! Have a great week!

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Rachel! Happy birthday to you! Happy 25th, Rachel!!! Hope you have a great one!!!